As Suffolk Downs readies to open for its six days of racing this year, track officials were hard hit with the news that horses stabled at Monmouth Park will not be allowed to return to the stable area there if they are shipped to compete in Boston.

When Monmouth Park begins a new season of racing Saturday, May 14, fans will notice a few new items around the racetrack, including a banner for Zayat Stables' American Pharoah, this year's inductee into the Oceanport, N.J. track's Hall of Champions.

When the racing spotlight falls on Monmouth Park this weekend, Dennis Drazin, who has helped guide the track in recent years, is confident fans who attend and watch on national television will see a top track.

Monmouth Park kicked off its 68th season of Thoroughbred racing May 11 with an enthusiastic crowd of 9,636 on hand despite monsoon-like weather. The New Jersey track reported a hefty increase in handle over last year.

Monmouth Park, expected to be under lease to the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, proposes to begin its live meet May 12 and offer 75 days of racing, 10 of them all-turf programs at Meadowlands.

New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority officials said they were pleased with the numbers for opening weekend -- when compared with 2009 statistics and not those recorded last year for the "$50 million elite meet."

Monmouth's stable gates opened April 5, officially kicking off training for their 2010 "Million Dollar Meet." Among the first to arrive are New Jersey stalwarts Kelly Breen, Gregg Sacco, and Joe Pierce.

To help ensure the proper design and execution of temporary facilities such as bleachers, tents, mutuels, and concessions, Monmouth Park hired the well-known firm HOK Sport, which in turn also brought onboard M Group Scenic Studios, to prepare for the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

<i>By Dan Liebman</i> - New Jersey's Monmouth Park was formally announced as the host site in the fall of 2004, and from the look of the plant in mid-March, the first-time site will be ready to take racing's center stage, though much still remains to be done.

Purses for the four undercard stakes on Haskell Day Aug. 8 at Monmouth Park have been increased to $100,000, Bob Kulina, vice-president of Thoroughbred racing and general manager of Monmouth, announced Sunday.

Burning Roma held on for a head victory over a hard-charging Remind in the $100,000 Red Bank Handicap (gr. IIIT) as racing returned to Monmouth Park Saturday under blue skies, bright sunshine and a crowd of of 21,869.

Charles Hesse III and his wife Marianne, who have raced as Char-Mari Stable at Monmouth Park for several decades, were named the 2003 recipients of the Virgil (Buddy) Raines Distinguished Achievement Award. Mr. and Mrs. Hesse were honored in winner's circle ceremonies on Aug. 31.

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and horsemen will ask the state racing commission for 120 live Thoroughbred dates for 2003 instead of 146, officials said Feb. 27. Monmouth Park would kick off calendar Memorial Day, May 24, if the schedule is approved.